All posts by KL

Prelude to the 100th Anniversary of Poland’s Regaining of Independence

Monday, December 11th 2017 – Weil Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Tickets: located in the orcherstra center, include a donation for CAST School support – $85
We also cordially invite you to meet the artists in a nearby restaurant after the concert. Tickets with dinner – $150

Tickets can be ordered at the Nowodworski Foundation tel. 914-260-8178, and by e-mail by sending an order to office@siteNF.org and by sending a check to the Nowodworski Foundation, 18 Central Way, Purdys, NY 10578.

The Nowodworski Foundation would like to thank you cordially for supporting the CAST School project

Thursday, November 30th, 2017 ● Ars Activa Foundation and Finitor Foundation cordially invite you on December 11that 8PM at the Weil Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall, to a concert dedicated to Piłsudski and Paderewski, fathers of the Poland’s Independence in 1918. In this way, they will be inaugurating the New York celebrations of the 100th Anniversary of the regaining of Independence of Poland. The star of the evening will be Dang Thai Son, winner of the 1980 Chopin Competition.

“A genuine musician” – Isaac Stern. An outstanding international musician of our time, Vietnamese – Canadian pianist Dang Thai Son was propelled to the forefront of the musical world in October 1980, when he was awarded the First Prize and Gold Medal at the Xth International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. It was also the first time that a top international competition was won by an Asian pianist. Since winning the Chopin Competition, his career has taken him to over forty countries. He has worked with Neville Marriner, Pinchas Zukerman, Mariss Jansons, Pavvo Järvi, Frans Brüggen and John Nelson, and with such world-class orchestras as the Czech, St Petersburg, Moscow, Warsaw and BBC philharmonic orchestras, the Orchestre de Paris, NHK Symphony and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Career highlights have included performances at the Opening Gala Concert of Chopin Year 1999 and the 2005 Chopin Competition. Dang has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Melodya, Polskie Nagrania, CBS Sony, Analekta, Victor JVC and the Fryderyk Chopin Institute.

2017 marks the 150th Anniversary of birth of the main creator of the regaining of Independence – Marshall Józefa Piłsudski. As for Jan Ignacy Paderewski – great pianist and statesman – he was instrumental in obtaining the explicit inclusion of independent Poland as point 13 in Wilson’s peace terms in 1918. In the words of Consul General of the Republic of Poland Maciej Golubiewski „New York is an ideal place to musically honor the actions of two national heroes who contributed to the regaining of Independence of Poland. Thanks to these kinds of initiatives we are popularizing the achievements of Poles amongst the Polish-American Community and Americans, highlighting at the same time our presence in the United States.

The concert’s program will be comprised of works by Polish composers Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941) and Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937).

The concert is taking place under the Honorary Patronage of the General Consulate of the Republic of Poland and is part of the celebrations of the Polish Slavic Center 45th Anniversary.

Dang Thai Son about Chopin: “I was born during the war in Vietnam, and when I was very young, we had to evacuate and move into the mountains. There was of course no electricity at the time, and even more difficulties learning music and getting our hands on musical scores. There were all kinds of shortages with respect to materials and information. And there were obviously no concerts and no recordings. This period was totally a kind of darkness. But suddenly, with Chopin, I got very lucky. In 1970, my mother was invited to attend the international Chopin competition in Warsaw as a guest, to simply observe. Being a pianist herself, she brought back from the competition complete scores and sets of recordings of Chopin’s works. The first music I heard in my life, the very first recording, was Chopin’s Piano Concerto in E minor played by Martha Argerich. I was so impressed. I did not have any music of Bach, Mozart, or Beethoven, only that of Chopin. If I think back, when I was maybe eight or nine years old and still living in the mountains, I can remember my first contact with Chopin’s music. I was with my mother, and I read his scores, silently in the dark, using only lit candles. My mother played some short melodies for me – nocturnes and mazurkas. I felt it was all so beautiful and I fell in love with this music. I learned his music day and night, and I could feel Chopin’s music in my blood from then on.”

You are invited to attend Kosciuszko Gala Concert on Sunday, November 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the Weill Recital Hall at the Carnegie Hall. The Concert is organized by Ars Activa Foundation and is held under the honorary patronage of Deputy Prime Minister of Poland , Minister of Culture and National Heritage Piotr Glinski. The concert will feature works by most prominent Polish composers including the New York premiere of Polonaise Metamorphoses on the theme by Tadeusz Kosciuszko for violin, viola and string orchestra.

Polish side guests:
Anna Maria Anders, Secretary of State of the Republic of Poland for International Dialoque; Anna Obrycki; Katarzyna Kostro, Trade and Investment Mission of the Republic of Poland in New York; Jola Burnett, Market Research Strategist; Jerzy Lesniak, Architect, President Nowodworski Foundation.

Introduction of participantsPoland – open to business, opportunities and know-how. Presentation by Anna Obrycki and Katarzyna Kostro, Trade and Investment Mission of the Republic of Poland in New York

Overview of market development in Poland at current stage. Emphasized positive assessment of economy by Ernst &amp; Young. Market measures indicate that Poland is the fastest growing economy in Europe at this moment and creates good climate for pursuing successful business. Special economic zones were created with tax breaks and other incentives specific for each zone. Poland uses own currency PLN (polish zloty) and stays away from Euro, what is favorable for bilateral commerce.

Selected areas of business opportunities in Poland are:

Construction of highways and road networks; government plans to double number of highways

Information Technology; large number of highly qualified IT professionals; technology incubators

Manufacturing; low labor costs, hi-qualification skills of labor, easy access to European and Eastern European markets

Banking, almost all major banks are represented but still it is developing market

As the third-largest City in New York State, Yonkers has nearly 200,000 people located on the Hudson

River adjacent to New York City northern border. Five major highways give Yonkers the best north-south and east-west connections in the northern suburbs. Add two commuter train lines with six stations, plus the greatest number of bus lines in the County, and you can see that Yonkers has a transportation network that cannot be matched. Travel time by commuter train from Yonkers to Grand Central Terminal is under a half hour. Whether you are moving goods out, or employees and customers in, Yonkers is the location to meet your needs. (per Yonkers Industrial Development Agency)

Yonkers represents business/investment opportunity in the following areas:

Housing market; large influx of new residents from New York City creates need for new residential units, schools and services

Excellent location for starting or doing business in NYC and US with good logistic connections, proximity to airports (JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, Newburgh, Westchester County Airport) and hotel base (5 hotels)

Discussion

Kevin Cacace expressed interest in highway projects in Poland

Anna Maria Anders and Jerzy Lesniak informed about Nowodworski Foundation plan to sponsor opening of a charter high school as part of renovation of St. Casimir parish buildings; International Academy of Culture, Arts, Science and Technology – CAST, to serve Yonkers students with rigorous curriculum, focused on 100% graduation towards college or achieving professional certificates and connecting students to the world through international exchange program. It was advised by K. Cacace to connect with Dr. Edwin M. Quezada Superintendent of Schools, Rev. Steve López, President of Yonkers Board of Education and Wendy Nadel Executive Director at Yonkers Partners in Education.

Setting channels for future communication

Yonkers side:

Wilson Kimball, Esq, Commissioner, Department of Planning and Development

URBAN WEAVING

This project was and funded by an Arts Alive Project Grant made possible with funds from the Decentralization Program (DEC), a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Legislature, and administered by ArtsWestchester. Supported by Nowodworski Foundation.

The year 2017 marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Tadeusz Kościuszko. It is one of the anniversaries, covered world-wide by the patronage of UNESCO and an excellent opportunity to commemorate this outstanding figure of Polish culture and history.

The Foundation Ars Activa begins these celebrations by organizing a gala concert of Polish music in New York’s Carnegie Hall, “Musical Tribute to Tadeusz Kościuszko”.

New York, the cultural capital of the United States, is an ideal place to start the celebrations of this 200th Anniversary, and to honor Tadeusz Kosciuszko, “hero of two nations”, Polish and American. The concert will take place on Sunday November 13th 2016 at 7:30pm in the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

The program will showcase some of the most beautiful chamber music written by 12 Polish composers, from Fryderyk Chopin to Krzysztof Penderecki. It will be a unique opportunity, to hear works by F. Chopin, St. Moniuszko, I.J. Paderewski, H. Wieniawski, M. Karłowicz, Z. Noskowski, K. Szymanowski, L. Różycki, G. Bacewicz, R. Twardowski, H.M. Górecki, W Kilar i K. Penderecki, all in one evening. The performers of this concert will be Polish, American, Canadian and Brazilian musicians (e: Mariusz Monczak and Nadia Monczak – violin; Małgorzata Kellis – soprano; and pianists Durval Cesetti and Dan Smith. The concert will be hosted by actress Liliana Komorowska.The concert is held under the honorary patronage of the Consulate General of Poland in New York. The partners, in the realization of this project are the Kosciuszko Foundation, the Nowodworski Foundation and the Westchester Pułaski Association.

Tickets, $49.00, are on sale at Carnegie Charge, 212-247-7800 or at the Box Office at 57th St & Seventh Ave.